


Disappearance

by FuryTigresse



Series: After The Nightmare [12]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Devil May Cry 5 Spoilers, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Happy Ending, Panic, Post Devil May Cry 5, Post-Game(s), hey look Vergil has become a better dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-17 14:50:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18967450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuryTigresse/pseuds/FuryTigresse
Summary: [Spoilers for Devil May Cry 5] Nero has finally fully recovered from the flu, and he's trying to call his father to learn some techniques from him. Unfortunately, the half-demon is nowhere to be found...





	Disappearance

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided that this is the last story from this series, as I'm running out of (mostly happy) events to go over in here (I mean, I suppose the characters will die eventually, but I want this series to remain major character death-free). I have other ideas for the DMC crew, but they wouldn't fit in here, so I'll make this the last entry. Hopefully those who follow this series will still take a look at what else I come up with later on. :) For now, we'll touch on what I think would be Nero's greatest fear in the context of this series.
> 
> As usual, English isn't my first language and I type pretty fast, so let me know if you happen to spot weird sentences and/or typos!

_"I've thought about your offer."_   
_"Have you, now? Then what is your decision?"_   
_"I'll follow you. Bring me to your master."_   
_"Ah, it's good that you've accepted joining us. Now come. The new ruler of the Underworld awaits your presence, Dark Slayer."_

***

Nero groaned in disappointment when he found himself facing his father's voicemail.

"You've reached Vergil. I'm not available right now, so leave a message."

The cold voice still made him smile. At least his father had voicemail, unlike Dante, and he had finally customized the damn message.

"Hey dad, it's me," he huffed. "Don't bother calling me back, I'll try again later. See ya, old man."

He hung up after that and stretched, looking at the time. It was two in the afternoon and he was bored. It had been about a month since he had gotten sick with the flu, and his lungs had finally fully recovered from it. He had thought that it might be fun to invite his father over for some sparring, but unfortunately, he was unavailable. With Nico gone on a trip with Lady for a week, Kyrie being at the orphanage and the kids being in school, Nero was a bit at a loss for things to do. Damn it. It would have been a perfect time to try and learn some of his father's fighting techniques, as well, with it being a Monday and all.

Well, there wasn't much he could do about it. He'd call another day and let his old man know that he was ready to kick his ass again.

***

Nero hung up with a groan of disappointment. He had been trying to call his father for two weeks.

"That's like, the fifth time I call him and he's not picking up."  
"That's unfortunate," Kyrie said in a soft voice, working on patching up some of the kids' clothes. "When have you tried calling him?"  
"First on a Monday, and then on the Wednesday after. I also tried calling him on Saturday, and on Monday again. And since he was still not picking up, I figured I should wait and see if maybe he just doesn't feel like talking, but now it's been a week since then and he's still not approaching his phone."  
"Maybe he went on vacation?"  
"My father, going on vacation?"  
"You're right, that would indeed be unlike him."  
"I'm gonna call Dante."

Nero grabbed the phone again and dialed Dante's number. Maybe he had been unlucky and his father had happened to be at Devil May Cry every time he had called.

"Devil May Cry."  
"Hey Dante, it's Nero."  
"Oh hey, kid. What can I do for ya?"  
"Is my father with you? I've been trying to call him for like, two weeks, but he ain't picking up."  
"You try calling him at work?"  
"Oh, he didn't tell you? He got rid of the phone there because the ringing was more of a bother than anything."  
"He didn't tell me that. That bastard."  
"Anyway, so?" Nero inquired. "Saw him lately?"  
"Nah. To be fair, kid, he's probably just not in the mood to talk. You know him."  
"All right."  
"Don't worry about your old man."  
"Fuck off, I'm not worried."

They bickered a bit more after that, at least until Nero got tired of being teased and ended the conversation by hanging up in the middle of Dante speaking. Okay, if there was one thing he absolutely had in common with his father, it was that he could only stand Dante in short bursts. His uncle had this unfortunate habit of teasing him to death whenever he could.

Well, at least he was reassured. And he stayed that way for two more days, until he saw something on TV that almost Triggered him right there and then.

"... reports from several Red Grave City residents that a local bookstore owner has been missing for nearly three weeks, as his store has been closed for that much time for no apparent reason. While no one had a photograph of this elusive man named Vergil, according to the store's regulars, the investigators have created this portrait of him based on the regulars' descriptions. The missing man is said to be in his forties, with white hair and pale blue eyes. The last time he was seen, he was wearing a long coat with-"

Nero wasn't listening anymore. The descriptions had been accurate enough that the portrait shown on TV looked almost exactly like his father. He grabbed the nearest phone just as the reporter specified that Vergil was a very mysterious man with no known relatives, according to the regulars.

"Devil May C-"  
"MY FATHER'S GONE MISSING?!"  
"Whoa, calm down, kid! What do you mean he-"  
" _Calm down_?! It was on the news just now! He's been gone for three weeks! And his store has been closed this entire time! What the fuck?!"  
"Hey, I have no idea. Look, we're gonna find him, okay?"

They decided to split the search. Dante would check out every place he knew of that Vergil might have gone back to because of old memories from when they were kids. He'd ask Trish and Lady for help, and Morrison would keep an eye out too. Nero - and Nico, so that they'd get there quicker - would go and search Vergil's apartment for clues.

Nobody dared mention that the older twin had the Yamato and could have very well just decided to go back to the Underworld, or to some other distant, hidden place in the world. Especially since he was now way too strong to ever be defeated by anyone other than Dante and Nero.

***

It took several hours before Nero was finally able to track down the landlord of the building where his father lived. By that point he wasn't too concerned with respect, and he demanded the immediate unlocking of Vergil's apartment. Obviously, the landlord refused, and Nero found himself in need of leaving and coming back with a revved up Red Queen threatening to set fire to a few things. He asked again, lifting his sword like it was nothing, letting the man see the heavy motor on it, letting him guess how strong he was, letting him guess what kind of damage he was ready to do to get what he wanted.

"The man who lives there is my father who's MISSING, you fucktard! Open the fucking door or I'm smashing you through the wall to get in!"

That landlord didn't need to know that Nero would never hurt an innocent person. As long as the flames running along the blade convinced him, and they did, that was fine. It also probably didn't hurt that anyone with eyes could guess that Nero and Vergil were related, thanks to their same impossible silvery white hair. The Devil Hunter had never been so glad about his weird hair color.

In any case, they were in Vergil's apartment a few minutes later, and Nero clenched his teeth when he noticed that his demonic jacket wasn't reacting at all. He had decided to wear it just in case it would end up detecting Vergil's presence, but no, it wasn't rustling at all. And that wasn't because Nero was starting to be able to pour energy into it. Vergil was still the jacket's biggest energy source.

Nero was trying to keep the panic inside as he looked at the empty apartment. His father leaving him behind for good was probably his greatest fear now that he finally had a family he could call his own. He very well knew that Vergil could just be... gone. Closure wasn't something the older twin cared much about, if him leaving Nero's mother without as much as a goodbye was any indication. So Nero could too well imagine his father deciding that he had enough of this domestic life. He was _hoping_ that wasn't the case, but who was he kidding? His father had definitely not been abducted. He was too strong for anyone to defeat him now. The only explanation was that he had left voluntarily, and Nero shook his head as he started searching for clues as to where he might have gone.

He first found an unfinished novel. It wasn't a literature classic of any kind, apparently. He had never heard of it before, and it was in another language. French again? Maybe. He didn't bother trying to guess what it was about. There was a bookmark in the middle of it, shaped like a tiny, flat Yamato, with some artist's signature engraved along the blade. That was a beautiful bookmark, but he had no time to admire it. He scanned the pages around it quickly. Maybe he'd see the name of a place, maybe he could find some kind of clue... no, nothing there. He put the book down and looked around some more.

The display on Vergil's phone showed several messages, seven to be exact. Five of those were Nero's. He went through the messages, hoping for something. The first message that wasn't one he had left was some kind of scam thing pretending that Vergil owed money to the government or whatever. Okay, his father wasn't _that_ old that he'd get scammed by that. He still deleted it, disdain marking his expression. The second message was some telecom company trying to set up a meeting with Vergil to sell him something he didn't need. Nero deleted that message too with a disappointed groan. Nothing there that could point him to where his father had gone.

He searched for a good half hour and even made the terrible decision to read the last page of his father's journal - it was just him bitching about some rude customers, at least - to try and find out where he could be. But there was nothing helpful, absolutely nothing, and he was ready to just scream in frustration because-

Wait. His jacket rustled as a portal suddenly appeared in the living room. Vergil stepped out of it a second later, stoic and as calm as ever, although he looked slightly puzzled when he saw Nero and his landlord in his apartment.

"Nero, what are you-" he started.

However, he didn't manage to finish his sentence. Nero rammed straight into him in full Devil Trigger form, tackling him to the floor and hugging him tight before he used his demonic fists to punch him. His expression, even in his other form, was a mix of pure relief and incomprehension.

"You're an asshole! Where the fuck _were_ you?! I thought you were gone!"

He closed his eyes as his body went back to normal, and Vergil frowned, bewildered and confused, noticing that his son exuded emotional pain. Nero got up, emotions flowing through his entire body, and Vergil did the same, although he was more confused than anything else. Why was Nero reacting that way?

"I was in the Underworld," he said slowly, a frown coloring his traits as he glanced at his landlord, the Yamato in hand, still in its very obvious and true sword form. "It would do you well that no one else ever hears of that."

He pushed the Yamato out just a touch with his thumb, and his landlord scrambled out of the apartment with a mumbled apology and a solemn promise that not a word of this would ever reach another person's ears. With him gone, Vergil looked back towards Nero, who had barely managed to recompose himself. The Devil Hunter gave him a 'but why the _fuck_ would you _do_ that?' kind of look.

"Why?" he ended up asking. "Why the Underworld? Were you looking for power _again_?"

There was a flash of blue, and V appeared by Vergil's side, a smirk on his lips.

" _We were... removing the presence of potential threats._ "  
"V," Vergil warned with a growl.  
" _The boy has the right to know about those demons._ "

The half-demon shook his head, but sighed as he sat at the kitchen table, letting Nero do so too. V simply stood by his side, a mocking smile on his lips. He turned more and more into Vergil's equivalent of Griffon with each passing day, commenting everything he did.

"I suppose you remember those demons who had poisoned blades," Vergil opted to start with.  
"Fuck, I couldn't forget that."  
"I was... accosted by them a little while ago. Two days after we were back from the mission during which you got sick, in fact. They offered me a position under the new ruler of the Underworld."  
"You _accepted_?! That's why you were-"  
" _That is not all. They also mentioned being aware that one of Sparda's kin was ill with a human affliction._ "

Vergil looked away with a grumble, and Nero took a minute to think. His father had been offered to go back to the Underworld. The demons who had offered this to him had access to poison that could stop a demon's regeneration and other such powers and thus, kill him more easily. They had pretty much said that they knew Nero was sick.

His father hadn't gone to the Underworld to seek more power. He had gone there to kill every single one of those demons so that they wouldn't get to him while he was still recovering from the flu... Was it presumptuous to think that his father cared so much for him? Was it presumptuous to think he had done this to protect him?

"Either way," Vergil hissed, voice cold, making V disappear, "this visit took slightly longer than expected. This 'new ruler' had created several portal-making demons and I had to be certain no new portal would be made after I left."  
"You... you killed them all?"  
"This 'new ruler' was mere talk. I shouldn't have bothered with him."  
"Hey, wait! Are you saying that you went to Hell just to-"  
"I suppose you've been worried."

Nero threw his hands up in a 'are you kidding me?!' gesture.

" _Worried_? That's a fucking understatem-"  
"I'm sorry."

That stopped Nero right there and then. His father had... apologized? For worrying him? For heading to Hell without telling him - even if he had a reason - and making him think he had just disappeared? That... wasn't entirely like him, although maybe V was in Vergil's mind and making fun of him at the moment. Either way, Nero couldn't help but grin. Well shit, if Vergil was in that mood...

"If you really want to apologize, warp the van back home. I'm not breathing cigarette smoke for hours on the way back," he said, testing his father's will to make amends.  
"Very well."  
"And you're having dinner with us."  
"... of course."  
"Kyrie will need help making food. You'll do that."  
"... I see."  
"You'll also have to teach me some of your fighting techniques."  
"I suppose I can do this."  
"Oh, and you need to apologize to Dante too. He was worried as well."  
"That, I won't do."

He had expected that, so he just smirked, incredibly relieved. His father wasn't gone. His father hadn't left him behind again.

***

Dinner was a loud business, as usual, the kids complaining about what they liked and didn't like, Kyrie trying to make them eat everything, and Nico joining in to tease the boys and try challenging them so they'd obey Kyrie. However, this time, Nero wasn't participating in that at all. He had barely even touched his plate while most of them had almost finished their own food. At some point, Vergil quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Nero."  
"Yeah, dad?" he reacted immediately, snapping out of it.  
"Stop looking at me like that."  
"Uh? Like what?"  
"Like I'm going to disappear."  
"Hey! I have the right to worry about you disappearing. You always just-"  
"I won't leave like that again. I promise."

Vergil had spoken loud enough that everyone could hear him say so. Normally, Nico would have teased him about it. Normally, Nero would have retorted something witty. Normally, Kyrie would have just smiled and been happy for her boyfriend.

But this time, Nico kept quiet, Nero breathed out a tiny sigh of relief and gratitude, and Kyrie touched Vergil's arm with a little chuckle.

"I think Nero is too much like you to ever say this out loud, so... thank you, Vergil. For everything, and mostly, for not leaving."

Both of Sparda's descendants looked away, and Nico laughed.

"And the point goes to Kyrie! Devils can't do much when facing her. Well then, how 'bout we get out there once everyone's done eatin' and we can try out some of my new babies? I got a ton of new weapons I need you guys to try out, since you dumbasses are only able to get some father-and-son time during a good fight!"

Nero glanced towards his father, who raised a brow at him. There was a tiny smile on the older man's lips. The Devil Hunter huffed as a grin appeared on his face, and he nodded at his father. Yeah. Kyrie was right. He was damn glad his father was there, and even more glad that he had promised to never leave like that again. Vergil may not be going up for a Father of the Year award, but he was still his father, still his family.

And Nero didn't plan on losing his family anytime soon.

**Author's Note:**

> So this happened? I started it a few days ago and I was almost done with it, but then one of my pets died (had a brain tumor that made him unable to eat and drink on his own), so it was put on hold while I spent an entire evening bawling my eyes out, and a few other evenings staring at the unfinished story without knowing what to do with it. I went back to it after a few days, since it was almost finished anyway, but I'm not sure how it turned out. I just wanted one final Vergil-being-a-better-dad-because-Nero-deserves-that moment and I'm terrible at conclusions (they were always my weak point when composing stuff in school). But hey, since I wrote it, I figured I might as well post it. And don't worry about me, I'm doing fine now actually, better than a few days ago :)
> 
> Hopefully you liked it at least a bit, and I hope I'll see you again on other fics I'll be writing eventually!


End file.
